Joaquín Gaztambide

Joaquín Romualdo Gaztambide y Garbayo (Tudela, Navarre, 7 February 1822 – Madrid, 18 March 1870) was one of the most prominent Spanish composers of the Zarzuela in the nineteenth century in Spain. His contribution to the revival of the zarzuela was highly significant, although during the last century his work virtually disappeared from the Spanish musical scene. Of Italian quality, and in the manner of Gaetano Donizetti, his music, however, makes use of Spanish rhythms and folk songs. Among other renowned operettas, stand out his La Mensajera (1849), El valle de Andorra (1851), Catalina (1854), Los magiares (1857), El juramento (1858), and La conquista de Madrid (1863).

Biography

Sent to Pamplona by his uncle to study piano and composition with Joseph Guelbenzu and Mariano Garcia, Gaztambide taught piano and played bass in the orchestra of a theater to make his living. He then moved to Madrid in 1842, where he studied at the Real Conservatório de Musica Maria Cristina, later continuing his studies of piano with Pedro Albéniz and composition with Ramon Carnicer.